Am I in an obstructive employer-employee relationship? The role of breach in employee reactions during tough times

Purpose To provide insight into how employees react during challenging economic times, this paper aims to examine employee responses to non-fulfilled employer obligations. More specifically, the authors examine two main issues: first, whether perceptions of organizational obstruction (PO Obstruction) mediate the relationship between psychological contract breach and intent to quit, as well as between psychological contract breach and willingness to support the organization, and second, whether breach moderates the relationship between PO Obstruction and intent to quit as well as between PO Obstruction and willingness to support the organization. Design/methodology/approach To test the hypotheses, the authors conducted a field study in which 316 employees took part. Findings The results indicate that PO Obstruction mediates the relationship between breach and employee outcomes. Regarding the moderating effects of the breach, the findings suggest that breach strengthens the positive relationship between PO Obstruction and intent to quit while it weakens the negative relationship between PO Obstruction and willingness to support the organization. Originality/value This paper contributes to the existing literature by introducing a new perspective of the breach-outcome relationship.